Renegade Animation Produces Main Titles For Tomcats

Animation production house Renegade Animation has designed and produced the main title sequence for TOMCATS, the new feature film from Revolution Studios. The 2-minute title sequence is fully cel-animated and features a cat and dog in pursuit of a buxom woman who blows them away -- literally. Darrell Van Citters directed the title sequence for Renegade Animation. Ashley Postlewaite was executive producer. TOMCATS, written and directed by Gregory Poirier, is the first release from Revolution Studios since its founding last year by producer Joe Roth. Starring Jerry O'Connell (MISSION TO MARS), Shannon Elizabeth (AMERICAN PIE) and Jake Busey (CONTACT), it's the story of a struggling cartoonist who must get his best friend wed within 30 days to win a bet. The cat and dog in the title sequence come from a cartoon strip created by the film's fictional main character. Paralleling the movie's love triangle, the cat and dog vie for the attentions of a lovely young woman, pursuing her through a casting office and a photo shoot, and serenading her outside her bedroom. Cast and production credits are woven into several scenes. The sequence comes to an explosive end when the dog wheels in a life-sized model of the maiden, and as the cat reaches for her blouse he finds bombs instead of breasts. The animation is flat and stylized with the characters and colorful titling appearing against a black background. This simple, graphical presentation provided Renegade animators complete freedom to concoct zany action and devise witty ways to reveal credits. For instance, the name David Ogden Stiers becomes a staircase for the cat to tumble down. Other names form from a cloud of smoke and from a loose thread pulled from the woman's skirt. According to Postlewaite, the simplicity and madcap air of the sequence also belies the complexity of the choreography. "The credits needed to comply with precise requirements for their order, duration and size," she explained. "The animators began with those requirements as a given and designed all of the animation around them." Renegade is best known for producing animated television commercials (American Dairy Board, Nike, McDonald's, Frito-Lay) and as the producer of the Internet cartoon series ELMO AARDVARK: OUTER SPACE DETECTIVE. For more information, call (818) 556-3395.